Results 741-760 of 875 for speaker:Catherine Ardagh

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Apr 2017)

Catherine Ardagh: How many houses has the Government built?

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Apr 2017)

Catherine Ardagh: The Leader is taking liberties at this stage.

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Mar 2017)

Catherine Ardagh: I rise to again call on the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to make some effort to intervene in the Bus Éireann strike. Yesterday I went outside the gates of Leinster House with some of my colleagues and met some of the decent, hard working staff in Bus Éireann who are rightly concerned about their future employment status and the future of Bus Éireann. I cannot...

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Mar 2017)

Catherine Ardagh: I fully support Joanne and I hope the Government and the Minister ratify this convention without delay.

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Mar 2017)

Catherine Ardagh: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Order of Business (29 Mar 2017)

Catherine Ardagh: Today the UK Prime Minister, Theresa May, will trigger Article 50, which will eventually see the UK leave the EU over a two-year period. We are all concerned about the impact this will have on Ireland, especially the threat of a hard border. Today it is easy to forget the problems our country faced before the Good Friday Agreement. We take for granted free movement between North and South....

Seanad: Order of Business (29 Mar 2017)

Catherine Ardagh: The Leader walked into that.

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Mar 2017)

Catherine Ardagh: I wish to raise two issues, the first of which is the recent Garda scandal and the second is the protection of cyclists on our roads. How the Government has dealt with the recent Garda scandal is incredible. Most notably, the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality has failed to appear in the Dáil today and has, for all intents and purposes, gone to ground. Some 937,000...

Seanad: Order of Business (22 Mar 2017)

Catherine Ardagh: I rise to acknowledge the 60th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome. The anniversary falls in a moment that is particularly complex in light of the internal and external challenges that face the European Union. The economic and social benefits generated by the membership of the EU have been incalculable for Ireland. All we have to do is look at the visible investment that the EU has put...

Seanad: Pensions (Equal Pension Treatment in Occupational Benefit Scheme) (Amendment) Bill 2016: Second Stage (22 Mar 2017)

Catherine Ardagh: I commend Senator Bacik on bringing this Bill before the House. Fianna Fáil fully supports this Bill. As the Senator has outlined, the aim of the legislation is to address the small number of cases where retired employees who were legally not permitted to marry persons of the same sex before a particular date may be deprived of certain pension benefits. The Bill follows on foot of the...

Seanad: JobPath: Statements (21 Mar 2017)

Catherine Ardagh: Fianna Fáil welcomes the fall in the level of unemployment. Credit must go to the people and businesses that are responsible for the recovery which is due to their resilience, skills, hard work, entrepreneurialism and determination to move forward to secure a better future for themselves, their families and communities. Despite the fall in the level of unemployment, the recovery has...

Seanad: Death of Martin McGuinness: Expressions of Sympathy (21 Mar 2017)

Catherine Ardagh: On behalf of the Fianna Fáil group in the Seanad and on my own behalf, I extend my sincere sympathies to the McGuinness family and to the wider Sinn Féin Party on the loss of Martin McGuinness. It is a very sad and difficult time for his wife, Bernie, and his children, Fiachra, Emmet, Fionnuala and Grainne. I hope they take some comfort today from the genuine and kind words...

Seanad: Order of Business (9 Mar 2017)

Catherine Ardagh: I am heartbroken by the tragic news of a fire in a housing complex in Clondalkin which supports women who have experienced violence. It is sad to see any loss of life but when children are lost in such shocking and unavoidable circumstances, it is unforgivable. We have lost two year old Paris, three year old Holly, four year old Jordan and a young pregnant mother, Annmarie. This is a...

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Mar 2017)

Catherine Ardagh: I rise to mention the recent developments regarding the Tuam Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home. Having read of them, we have all been left touched, shocked and in a state of horror. I wish to make a number of comments on this matter. I am glad that the terms of reference of the investigation were flexible enough to be covered by the current investigation into the Bon Secours home in Tuam,...

Seanad: Order of Business (2 Mar 2017)

Catherine Ardagh: I welcome the reintroduction of 400 career guidance posts, an action contained in the Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil confidence and supply agreement. It was agreed at the time that this Government would reintroduce guidance counselling to secondary schools and budget 2017 saw that reintroduction with the restoration of 400 guidance posts, commencing in September 2017. In 2012, 600 guidance...

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Feb 2017)

Catherine Ardagh: I wish to convey my sympathies and that of the Fianna Fáil group to the family of the late Peter Mathews on his passing - to his wife, Susan Mathews, and to their four children. Ar dheis láimh Dé go raibh a anam dílis. The non-principal private residence, NPPR, tax, colloquially known as the second home tax, was in place from 2009 to 2013 until it was replaced by the...

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Feb 2017)

Catherine Ardagh: No, I am referring to the non-principal private residence charge, known as the second home tax, which was replaced by the local property tax.

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Feb 2017)

Catherine Ardagh: Most people did not include the NPPR as a deductible expense because the Revenue Commissioners were so explicit in stating it was not deductible. It has now been made clear that it is a deductible expense but only as far back as 2013. Those who paid the charge will only be able to submit claims as far back as 2013 because of Revenue's rule that one can only amend one's tax returns for the...

Seanad: Order of Business (22 Feb 2017)

Catherine Ardagh: I raised the issue of the national children's hospital in the Seanad last week and caused a division in the House by calling on the Minister for Health to attend to address why the hospital has not been progressing. I urge the Leader to use his power and political skills to urge the Minister to take a renewed look at the national children's hospital to ensure he brings a new focus to it and...

Seanad: Minimum Custodial Periods upon Conviction for Murder Bill 2017: Second Stage (22 Feb 2017)

Catherine Ardagh: I thank Senator O'Donnell for bringing this legislation to the House. The lack of consistency of sentencing, in general, and not just for murder, is a serious issue. I welcome the victims of crime and their families who are in the Visitors Gallery and the representatives of AdVIC because this is a difficult debate. I concur with fellow Senators regarding the LRC recommendation that judges...